Nearly 100 schools across the state and more than 1,500 schools around the country plan to participate in the sixth annual National Bike to School Day on May 10, part of May’s National Bike Month.
Students, parents, teachers and community leaders will cycle or walk to and from school throughout the month to caution drivers about safety. Distracted driving is a common cause of crashes, and motorists are urged to put down their cellphone, keep their eyes on the road and watch for children near roadways.
Bike-to-school events are designed to create safer routes for those who cycle and walk, and emphasize the importance of physical activity, cyclist and pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, concern for the environment and connections between families, schools and the community. They can also help encourage communities to implement policy or engineering changes that make it safer to walk and bike to school. In 2016, nearly 70 percent of the organizers said their event contributed to planned, or completed, policy or engineering changes.
Colorado Department of Transportation encourages schools and parents to remind students about bicycle safety:
Wear a helmet.Perform an ABC quick check: air, brakes, cranks and chain.Be visible, e.g., wear bright clothes.Stick to a planned route to and from school.Ride in the same direction as traffic when on the street.Look left, right, and left again before crossing the street.Use hand signals when coming to a stop or turning.Be extra careful around driveways, parking lots and intersections.Practice the safe route to school before Bike to School Day.For more information, contact Leslie Feuerborn at (303) 757.9088 or leslie.feuerborn@state.co.us, or visit www.walkbiketoschool.org, www.saferoutesinfo.org or www.codot.gov/programs/bikeped/safe-routes.
fstone@durangoherald.com
